2-737-616 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Pendant, late 1800s-early 1900s. The most intimate and personal of all Luba objects, pendants made in ivory or bone were originally suspended on a cord or bandolier and typically worn diagonally across the chest of a high-ranking member of society. Often accompanied by amulets, beads, or small antelope horns, they represented ancestral spirits and served as portals to ancestral wisdom and beneficence. The pendants paid tribute to the ancestors and were regularly anointed with oils and worn against the body over many years, which resulted in the erosion of details and a smooth, lustrous surface. Many of these diminutive figures hold their hands to their breasts as a sign of the secrets and wisdom they contain.